


Unbidden Love

by artful_fanfic



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Romance, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 18:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artful_fanfic/pseuds/artful_fanfic
Summary: Alyssa Cousland and Nathaniel Hawke navigate the love they found together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It started with a list of prompts and I remembered how much I shipped these two. So, here are a couple of Tumblr prompts for the darlings I ended up shipping like burning.

**36\. “I wish I could hate you.”**

No matter how many days passed, Alyssa could still see his sneer. His mocking voice haunted her. 

_“Well, well. Bryce Cousland’s little spitfire. All grown up and still playing the man.”_

Andraste’s tits! She had killed an archdemon and saved Fereldon from the Blight. She had more than avenged her slaughtered family.

_“I deserved more.”_

She refused to let Arl Rendon Howe take anything else from her. With a cry of frustration, she attacked the practice dummy with renewed vigor. By mid-afternoon, her shoulders ached and sweat poured down the sides of her face.

“I’m surprised your foe hasn’t been reduced to splinters by now.” The gravely voice tugged her out of her memories and when she turned to face him, she saw his face. His father’s face, she reminded herself as Nathaniel studied her, remaining just a few paces away. The moment passed and she slowly lowered her blade and shield.

Despite the exhaustion that began creeping up on her, she managed a brief smile for him. “I suppose I should just try harder, hm? I always like a challenge.”

Her attempt at humor was rewarded with a chuckle, but the smile he gave her didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, you do.” He moved, then, putting himself within arm’s reach. “You were dreaming about them again last night. Your family.”

He didn’t have to ask. He would know. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop,” she confessed, allowing herself to sink against him and accepting the comfort he wordlessly offered.

“Being with me can’t make it any easier,” he murmured, pressing a light kiss to her temple. “I was always told that there was no denying his paternity. The nose doesn’t lie.”

“You’re nothing like him,” she hissed, surprised by the vehemence in her voice. “Oh, Maker. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier if I could hate you. I wish I could hate you.” Her arms tightened around his waist. “A Howe took everything I loved from me, but this Howe? You? You brought back a piece of my heart. I could never - will never hate you.” She tilted her head back to peer up at his face.

The tenderness in his expression turned her knees to jelly and she was grateful for the support his body provided. “I love you too,” he murmured as his head descended to cover her lips with his.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another prompt with some angst and fluff between Alyssa and Nathaniel. I really ought to give them their own full-length thing later. Someday.

**Number 26. “I got you a present.”**

Alyssa liked to believe that she was beyond being surprised or fazed by things. After all, she had faced down an archdemon and ended a Blight. Topping that was certainly going to be difficult. Yet there she was, staring at the large wooden chest she had discovered in her quarters.

She never thought she’d see it again.

Tears welling in her eyes, she found herself kneeling in front of it. Her fingers traced the elaborate carvings and a bittersweet smile lifted the corners of her lips as she found the scars and nicks that marred - enhanced - the beauty of the piece. “It’s all right, Pup. Your mother won’t mind. These things happen.”

“It was going to be a surprise,” Nathaniel’s voice was soft. He stood in the doorway behind her. “I was going to cover it with a sheet, bring you here, tell you that I got you a present, and then pull it off.” He chuckled wryly. “I’m terrible at these sorts of things.”

“How did you find this?” Alyssa’s voice was barely above a whisper. She lifted the lid of the chest. It was, predictably, empty, but she could have sworn that she caught a whiff of the scent her mother favored.

He let out a slow breath. “I was in the market and I remembered seeing its like during my last visit to Highever. I couldn’t be sure if it was the same one, but I thought you might like something that reminded you of home.” Soft footsteps carried him closer to her. “I didn’t realize - one of my father’s men must have taken it.”

She quietly closed the chest. “My father had this commissioned for my mother on the tenth anniversary of their marriage. These carvings tell their story.” Her voice was shaking and she found it hard to continue to speak over the growing lump in her throat.

Nathaniel joined her on the floor. She saw the movements out of the corner of her eye and felt his fingers brush her hair away from her face. The chest still held the bulk of her attention.

“There were gems here,” she continued. Fingertips brushed the indents. “I remembered how they glittered in the firelight. Mother insisted that they keep this in the Great Hall. It was the heart of our home. Where she belonged with him.”

She stared at the entwined letters at the center of the intricate design. To anyone else, they would have just been another element of the carving. She knew each loop by heart. “They wanted the world to know how much they loved each other. It was their wish that Fergus and I find spouses and write our own stories just like this.”

After what felt like an eternity, she finally looked away from the chest. Nathaniel was still beside her, his expression inscrutable. She reached to take his hand in hers. “Thank you for finding this.”

He brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. “I didn’t know what to give you. You’ve given me so much - my grandfather’s bow, a renewed relationship with my sister, a chance to redeem my name and my family. I could think of nothing to give you that equaled that.”

“You brought me a piece of my family. A piece of home. I will ask Fergus if he minds my keeping it.” She already knew her brother’s answer. “Thank you for this. It means the world to me. Having the reminder will be good. There’s more to life than endless battles.”

“Is there?” He gifted her with a rare, full smile while he pulled her into his arms.

“So they tell me.” She settled easily into his embrace, ignoring the cold stone floor beneath them. “They would be happy for me, I think. My parents. Despite everything, I found what they always wanted for me. A love worth carving.”

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re going to hate yourself for saying something so cloyingly sentimental later, you realize that, right?”

Laughing quietly, she swatted his arm. “Probably, but you could have just let us have this moment.”

“What kind of man would I be if I didn’t look out for your best interests? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do for the one you love?” She felt his laughter as his arms tightened around her.

“You’re lucky I love you so much, Nathaniel Howe.” Her head rested on his shoulder while she turned her focus back to the chest at the foot of their bed.

“I am,” he murmured against her hair.


End file.
